Week 2 – Jeff Maness – April 28, 2019
Even So: Loneliness
Big Idea: Feeling alone might be normal but acting as if you are doesn’t have to be.
Big Question: What should I do when I feel alone?
Main Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-18
Isaiah 53:3a He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
1 Kings 19:1-4 1 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” 3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
1 Kings 19:9b-10 9b But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
1 Kings 19:11-13 11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1. Listen for the whisper
Psalm 46:10 10 Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 42:11 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!
1 Kings 19:14-18 14 He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” 15 Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. 16 Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. 17 Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by
Elisha! 18 Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”
2. Lean into the wilderness
The desert is where God speaks. When I look back on my own life, I know that the times God has spoken to me most—the times when God has been most present—has been during the harsh, difficult, “desert” situations when I wondered how I was going to get through. We try to just pray our way out of these “desert” times, but pastor Levi Lusko says; “Don’t try to get out of the desert. Try to get as much out of the desert as you can.” These hard, dry times in life are when God is preparing us for something significant. — Dave Adamson (Aussie Dave)⠀
Psalm 139:7-10 7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
3. Learn to wait
Psalm 27:14 Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
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